I am currently a grade 7 teacher, which means I cannot post all of my resources. I will provide links to the student pages I post on my school webpage, but the ones here will remain complete, you will not have to wait until I teach the material before I post it. I am not able to post my quizzes or tests, as my students are quite resourceful, and will no doubt find them.

It is my strong belief that students are much more capable than many of us give them credit for, and the only way to see this is to push them. The science program I run in grade 7 is very hands on and interactive, but it is also very demanding. I look at grade 7 as the year in which students need to start thinking about high school. They practise doing more difficult work and tests now, so that if it doesn't go well they can adapt their behaviours in grade 8, so that the time they get to grade 9 they have sorted things out and are going in ready for difficult projects and exams. I joke with my students that my classroom motto is that 'I torture because I care.' Most of them do not truly understand this until they have moved on to high school, at which time many of them contact me and inform me that they now understand why I held them to such high expectations.

At the bottom of this page you will find completed copies of my student unit webpages. Each of the pages listed will be laid out as follows:

1. The first section will be a list of things that students are to have in their binders. This is where you can find copies of the worksheet I use in my class.
2. The next section is a list of other documents that are used in the class, but I do not expect students to have a copy in their binder. We do use Science Power 7 in class, and I provide students with a copy of some of the info to re-read at home. I recommend this text, as it does a great job covering the curriculum.
3. The third section is where you can find a pdf copy of all of the lessons I run in class. I teach every lesson using Smart Notebook, and then post a copy for my students. By looking at these files you can see how the lesson is run. I currently do not offer the Notebook files, but am looking into a way to share these. I will be charging for these files, as they have taken a very significant amount of time to develop.
4. The section following the lessons is where I post information about quizzes. I give my students a short quiz every week. I am not able to post the quizzes, for obvious reasons, but I have posted the information I provide to students prior to the quiz. The actual quizzes are another item I am looking into finding a way to share, but again they will have a small cost associated with them.
5. The last section on each page is a summary of what is involved in completing each of the assignments listed in the binder list, the first section. This is just a quick reminder to my students.

In the middle three units you will find reference to a lab report. These projects are something that gets very mixed feedback. they are quite difficult and in-depth tasks. However, the pride the students take in their finished product is great to see. It also really sets them up for success when they move on from my classroom, and on to high school. All of the information to run the lab reports is included on these pages. I do recommend to you, that if you are planning on doing this, you plan on really supporting the kids and dealing with parents who do not feel the level of work is appropriate to grade 7. If run properly, this is a great grade 7 project, and amazing preparation for future schooling. They take forever to mark though :(

At the end of my units I have students write a test. Again, for obvious reasons, I cannot post these tests online. The tests I provide encompass the entire unit, from lesson end through he end. The tests range from 18 to 20 questions, and are six pages in length (this includes student input areas for each question). I provide students 3 periods to write the tests. The main idea is that they are basically an exam, however unlike an exam, they can go home between periods to study. On top of that, I show students the test questions a week before they start. This gives them time to study with knowledge of the actual questions. The idea here is that it is the first step toward learning how to write an exam in high school.

Please note that I have always saved the unit on heat until the end of the year, and as such I have never finished. I will post what I have.

Looking for anything specific, feel free to send me an e-mail at mike@mrcollinson.ca.

Student Unit Web Page

(contains all worksheets and lessons)

This is a seven lesson unit that I run at the start of the year. The unit serves as a warm-up to get students in the science mindset before I get into curriculum, but it also provides me with an opportunity to stress the importance of safety and appropriate behaviour in my class.

This unit covers the scientific method and science lab safety (including WHMIS and HHPS). There are a few worksheets, copies of my lessons and information on the quiz I give mid unit.

(Interactions in the Environment)

This 26 lesson unit includes a variety of activates focusing on ecosystems and the organization of life. Being that it is difficult to run experiments based on this contest, I have incorporated a few games and other physical activities to keep students interested. There is an ecological sampling that takes place early in the unit, which leads to a lab report for the students. There is also a couple graphing assignments (based on data from games) that help students develop their graphing skills. By the end of the unit students are running their own discussion on the impacts humans have had on the environment and ideas on how we can help fix some of these problems.

I have included copies of all of my worksheets and lessons, as well as information about the entire series of weekly quizzes I give for this unit.

In the future I will look into a way to share my unit test (at a small cost), but have not yet sorted out the logistics.

This unit is 30 lessons in length...

(Form and Function

My final full unit is also 30 lessons long...

(Heat in the Environment

As indicated above, I have never taught this complete unit, there simply is not enough time to do all of these units properly...